Gauge attachment for sewing machines



Jan. 9, 1940. o. SHPATER 2,186,885

GAUGE ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Nov. 15, 1958 Inventor 700; '0 755 6 aier By J Attorneys Patented Jan. 9, 1940 ED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

MACHINES GAUGE ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING David Shpater, Brooklyn, N. Q h

Application November 15, 1938, Serial'No. 240,588=

1 Claim. (01.112-153) 1 g This invention relates to a gauge attachment for sewing machines, and has for the primary object the provision of a device of this character which is extremely simple in construction and maybe readily adapted to a presser foot of a sewing machine for aiding a person to accurately stitch an edge of the fabric so that the stitching will be" at a selected distance from the edge throughout the length of said edge and which may be manufactured indifferent sizes and at a low cost to permit the sale of such devices at a very reasonable price.

With these andother objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of constructiomcombination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a side elevation illustrating a presser foot of a sewing machine equipped with a gauge constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevation illustrating the same.

Figure 3 is a top plan view illustrating the device.

Figure 4 is a plan View illustrating the blank from which the device is constructed.

Figure 5 is a top plan view illustrating a modification of the invention.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral 5 indicates a presser foot of a conventional construction including the usual shank 6 having pivoted thereto the presser foot proper l bifurcated to provide the spaced prongs 8 between which operates the sewing machine needle 9 and under which the fabric iii passes. The construction above described briefly is merelyset forth to give a clear understanding of the application of the present invention to a sewing machine. Usually one of the prongs 8 is of a greater length than the other and is indicated by the character A and the prongs curve upwardly toward their free ends. In adapting the invention to the presser foot it is applied to the prong A as clearly shown in Figures 2 and 3.

The gauge attachment forming the subject matter of the present invention is made from a blank, as indicated by the character B in Figure 4. This blank is of a suitable metal and consists of an elongated portion I I having at one end a gauge element i2 and also provided at opposite sides thereof with a clamp forming element l3 and a fingerpiece' I l. The parts H; l2; l3 and it as shown in Figurej' i' may be readily constructed of metal bya stamping operation; The portion is bendable on thedotted lines indicated by the character C. In bending'the blank; m5 on the dotted lines a loop portion 55 is provided with the finger piece i4 extending laterally therefrom and the clamp element It from one end thereof. Also a connecting portion it is provided with-the gauge element l2 carried directly I 7 thereby and extending at right'angles thereto,- as clearly shown in Figure 2; c

The loop portion. i5 is positioned on the prong A of the presser foot with the clamp element i3 bearing. on the topfacelof said prongA and in engagement with the lower end of the shank 6 of the presser foot. The clamp element l3 bears tightly against the top face of the prong A and thereby retains the loop portion on the presser foot against accidental displacement and limits 2 the movement of theloop portion onto the prong A in the direction of the shank 6.

The connecting portion 16 extends from one side of the loop portion under the other prong of the presser foot positioning the gauge element directly under the latter-named prong, as clearly shown in Figure 2, so that one side face thereof will engage the edge of the fabric and guide the movement of said fabric under the presser foot and in relation to the needle 9 so that the stitching will be formed at a selected distance from the edge of said fabric. The gauge element tapers gradually toward its free end, as shown in Figure l, the lower edge of said gauge element being arcuately curved from the attached end of the gauge element for a selected distance toward its free end with the remaining portion of the lower edge disposed substantially horizontally. The free end of the gauge element terminates slightly rearwardly of the needle 9 so as to assure of guiding the fabric past the needle where the stitching is made.

The finger piece I 4 extends to the left of the presser foot when viewing the latter from the front so that the operator may readily grip said finger piece with a thumb and forefinger of the left hand for positioning the attachment on the prong A of the presser foot and for removing said attachment when desired. Further, the fin-- ger piece extending to the left of thepresser foot will in no way obstruct the view of the stitching being formed by the needle. By referring to Figure 2 it-willbe seen that the connecting portion It is spaced a sufficient distance above the fabric so as not to interfere with the passing of the fabric under the presser foot and also is of less with than the width of the loop portion.

In operation, the attachment may be readily positioned onto the presser foot or the prong A 5 thereof prior to starting the sewing operation and by bringing the edge of the fabric which is to be stitched into engagement with the gauge element l2, said fabric will be caused to travel under the influence of the presser foot during the operation of the sewing machine in a straight direction past the needle 9 so that the stitching formed in the fabric by the needle 9 will be at a selected distance from the edge of the fabric. It is to be understood that the attachment may be made up in different sizes, that is, relative to the length of the portion l6 so that stitching of the fabric at different distances from the edge can be accordplished through the use of the different attachments.

Referring to the modified form of my invention, as shown in Figure 5, the loop portion is indicated by the character I! having associated therewith the finger piece l8 and the clamp portion IS. The connecting portion extending from one side of the loop portion I! is indicated by the character 20. It is to be noted that this connecting portion is of considerable length and carries at its free end the gauge element 21.

The top face of the connecting portion Zll has thereon a suitable scale. This type of attachment is employed when it is desired to form the stitching a considerable distance from the edge of the fabric, the loop portion I! being adapted on the prong A of the presser foot while the gauge element 2| is positioned a considerable distance laterally of the other prong portion so that when the fabric travels in engagement therewith, the stitching will be made in the fabric a considerable distance from said edge.

It is believed that the foregoing description, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, will fully set forth the construction and advantages of this invention to those skilled in the art to which such invention relates, so that further detailed description will not be required.

What I claim is:

A gauge for attachment to one prong of the presser-foot of a sewing machine to gauge a line of stitching on the work comprising a loop member fitting rearwardly over said one prong of the presser-foot and having a flat bottom, a finger piece of elongated form upstanding from the top of said loop member at the front edge thereof and extending laterally beyond the loop member for fingertip manipulation of said loop member on said prong from one side of the presser-foot, a strip-like extension on the bottom of said loop to underlie the other prong of the presser-foot, said extension forming a coplanar part of said bottom whereby the bottom and extension present a smooth elongated surface for engagement with the work to smooth the same down in advance of the presser-foot, and a downturned guide flange on the free end of said extension for engagement by one edge of the work, said guide flange being disposed transversely of said extension and projecting rearwardly well beyond the latter to provide an extensive guiding surface for said edge of the work.

DAVID SHPATER. 

